Which moon is this?

Shaolin and Zen are intimately connected. It's all part and parcel of that heady mix of passive/aggressive ultra violent/hippy sensibility that was captured so well in the original Kung Fu TV series. While it's rare to get a lesson in Buddhism at your local Kung Fu school, it's well worth investigating Zen practice if you practice a Buddhist-influenced martial art.

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As you'll quickly discover, if you lift the lid on the box labeled Zen, the practice of meditation is Zen, and Zen is the practice of meditation.

The fundamental problem with meditation practice is that it's not what we think it is. We tend to think of meditation as a break from it all, an escape into a fluffy cloud of bliss. It's not that. But here's the twist - even if we know this is not what meditation is, we still fall into the subtle trap of thinking that this is what meditation is. It's like we just can't help it.

Even if we know this fact intellectually, we still don't really know it. Know what I mean? Probably not :) However, help is at hand with this great lecture from Furyu Schroeder on Sunday, June 28, 2009, at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center.

It's about an old Zen koan which explains this ancient dilemma, called Which Moon is This? I'll reprint the koan here. If it fires your imagination then Furyu's lecture can help you understand what it means. And how Zen is never what you think it is. Enjoy.

Which moon is this?

As Yunyan was sweeping the ground, Daowu said, "Too busy."
Yunyan said, "You should know there's one who isn't busy."
Daowu said, "If so, then there's a second moon."
Yunyan held up his broom and said, "Which moon is this?"
Book of Serenity, Case 21

Updated: And here's another take on this koan by Tim Burnett. Text, this time.